Book Description
"This incredible story, which plunges us immediately into the bloodiest aspects of the war, is also a suspenseful autobiography that will keep you chewing your fingernails to see if Van Devanter survives any of it at all. She proves herself a natural storyteller. . . . The most extraordinary part in this book is Van Devanter's plight after the war-her attempt to retrieve the love of her family, only to realize they don't want to see her slides, hear her stories; her assignment to menial duties at Walter Reed Army Hospital. . . . How Van Devanter survives all of this to become, incredibly, a stronger person for it is what makes her book so riveting."-San Francisco Chronicle
"An awesome, painfully honest look at war through a woman's eyes. Her letters home and startling images of life in a combat zone-surgeons fighting to save a Vietnamese baby wounded in utero, the ever-present stench of napalm-charred flesh, a beloved priest's gentle humor and appalling death, the casual heroism of her colleagues, a Vietnamese 'Papa-san' trying to talk his dead child back to life, a haunting snapshot dropped by a dying soldier with no face-tell the story of a young American's rude initiation to the best and the worst of humanity."-Washington Post
"Moving, powerful . . . a healing book."-Ms. Magazine
"This book reads like a diary: unguarded, heartfelt. . . . [It] is both moving and valu-able, for reminding us so vividly that war is indeed hell . . . and that its most tested heroes are the doctors and nurses who doggedly labor not just to save life, but also to keep their respect for it, even as their surviving patients are sent out, once more, unto the breach."-Harper's Magazine
"In Vietnam, reality hit fast: Van Devanter's plane was fired on when it landed in Saigon; and after three days of adjustment, she was assigned to the 71st Evacuation Hospital, a 'MASH-type facility' near the Cambodian border. There, the casualties, . . . the personal danger, the fatigue, the heat, rain, and mud, the harassment of officers enforcing petty regulations, and above all the meaninglessness of American involvement rapidly put an end to Van Devanter's blind patriotism, her innocence, and her youth. . . . Van Devanter brings us face to face with the toll that undeclared war took on its combatants."-Kirkus Reviews
"If you read only one work about Vietnam, make this the one. . . . This is the way it was, as seen through the eyes of an army second lieutenant when she was twenty-two. I believe her completely, because this reviewer remembers Vietnam the same way, when he was a nineteen-year-old Marine PFC."-Deseret Sentinel
Customer Reviews:
Sex, lies and surgical tape...30+ years later.......2007-08-07
Based on my personal observations, Lynda was the laughing stock of the 71st Evac Hospital. And, she was also almost universally disliked. You had to tolerate her. But, you didn't have to like her. I heard alot from her other "friends" there in 1971. And, I was unfortunate enough to have to spend an afternoon, sitting in a jeep in downtown Pleiku, while she and a friend were wined and dined, so I observed her interactions firsthand. She was laughed at constantly because she was always trying to get out of doing something. But, that was Vietnam's fault. Not hers.
The book is not even good fiction. About 95% of the happenings she claimed never occurred. If they occurred they occurred to someone else, someplace else. The majority of the book is nothing but flights of fancy from a woman that wouldn't know the truth if it bit her. Every problem she ever had, since 1969, was blamed on Vietnam, the people she worked with, the war, the weather, whatever. Not one time in her book did she ever take responsibility for her actions and the repercussions she got from bad decisions.
My review of this book is not as fluent as others. But, my statements are based on personal experience with the subject matter of her and this book firsthand. I was there, I know.
Home Before Morning.......2007-05-18
I read this book for the first time many years ago now and it touched a cord in me simply at the time I was going thru something similar myself being discharged from the military and finding that you really have no place in the world. I never experienced anything like she did and how she overcame all her obstacles only attests to the strength of the person she became because of it. I believe she has passed on now due to exposure of agent organge while serving our country. I always try to make people see just what sacrifices that our fighting men and women go thru to keep us free that we never even hear about except very rarely in such books as this one. "They" don't want this kind of information coming out to let us know just what has really gone on. This continues to be one of my favorite books and I generally wind up reading it a few times a year. It's one book that will never be let go. It is well worth reading and I guarantee you it will make you think and be appreciative of the little things that we all take for granted.
honest look into the time and culture of the Vietnam War.......2007-01-20
Lynda was a U.S. Army nurse at the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku from 1969-70. In 1979, a year after the founding of Vietnam Veterans of America, she helped launch and became the head of VVA's Women's Project. She also began counseling other Vietnam veterans and conducting seminars around the country. Lynda was among the first few who committed herself to helping herself and others recover from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following Vietnam. I knew Lynda personally for many years. It took me a few years to get around to reading this book and when I did I wished I had read it earlier as it provided me a lot of insight into what ordinary men and women were thinking and feeling as they found their lives involved in the quagmire called Vietnam and the impact that it had upon them for the remainder of their lives. Honest, sad, vivid. Lynda passed away in 2002.
Life Changing.......2006-06-11
Growing up in the generation just past the edge of the Vietnam War era, I never really understood the war or the veterans. As a nurse, I started reading this book for the "nursing story." By the end of the book, I had a whole new view on the war, nurses in the war, veterans, the pain of war and the aftermath. I am appalled at the treatment, such as being spit on when our troops returned. It literally was life altering in my thought process of this era. Soon after reading it, a Vietnam vet. accompanied his wife for a procedure in the unit I worked. He openly told me that he had been sober for 2 months, and I was able to look at him in a whole new light and sincerely tell him how great that was. Another reminder that we have no right to judge others.
Fact or Fiction??.......2006-04-15
Ms. Van Devanter passed away in 2002. She, along with all who served in Vietnam, deserve our respect and appreciation for the sacrifices which they made in a very difficult and unpopular war.
I read this book and was deeply moved. However, just after I read the book I found a website dedicated to the memory of the 71st evac hospital near Pleiku where Ms. Van Devanter served. The author of the website served side by side with Ms. Van Devanter during her tour in Vietnam. I asked him what his thoughts were on the book. Here is his reply:
"Let me just say it like this: "Home Before Morning" is a wonderful blend of facts and exaggerated facts, designed to entertain and promote a certain agenda.....was that diplomatic enough?? I was fortunate enough to visit with Van (her nickname) while she was on a book tour that included my hometown. We had a great visit and she gave me a copy and wrote some nice things on the coverleaf. I took it home and read it that night, then had lunch with her the following day. She, of course, wanted to know what I thought of it. I asked her where she'd served, as it was obviously not at the 71st. We both laughed about that and she admitted that she wanted to sell books.
Van and I arrived at the 71st within days of each other and worked together every day until she was transferred out. She was an officer and I was an enlisted man, so we lived in different worlds, though working together 12 hours a day. Since we worked together, we sometimes hung out with the same gang...the OR/ER/Post-OP/X-ray bunch. After a few months of patching up GIs, NVA, civilians, etc., we both got disenchanted with the way the war was going and became politically active and were among the ringleaders of the "Great Turkey Day Fast" of Thanksgiving Day, 1969...consisting of refusal to eat Thanksgiving Dinner to protest the manner in which the war was being fought.
The case that she identifies as Gene was actually one that I scrubbed on. It's among the stories I have listed on the site. It was pretty gruesome and must have touched a nerve in her. Each of us who served there has at least one case that we think about every day.
Lest you believe that the war was as Van described it...it wasn't! There were lots of times when we had NO cases at all and a few very scary times when we had many more cases than we could handle. As in most military situations, it was 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror! 99% of the time we were operating on 1% of our brain power and 1% of the time we needed 150%!! Sometimes it was really wild! I think there's a story about "Push" that describes it..if not, I'll have to write it down."
You be the judge.
Customer Reviews:
The best book on Vietnam.......2006-05-17
Krepinevich has a cult following among professors and students at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. After reading his work I understand why. It is rare that ones comes across a book that radically changes the way one looks at military history. Thousands of books have been written on Vietnam and the movies "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now" brought the war to millions of Americans. Until I read this book, I thought I understood the causes and conduct of the war. Krepinevich brilliantly analyzes how the U.S. Army planned for and conducted the war. How it tried to fight the war it wanted to fight, vice the war as it actually existed. Army leadership brought their conventional mindset to the jungles of Vietnam. The inability to adapt to change proved a greater threat to the U.S. Army than the North Vietnamese Army. The book rises above the personal narrative style that dominates most Vietnam books. Instead, the book is based on solid military analysis. Even more telling was how the U.S. Army failed to grasp the lessons of counter-insurgency following Vietnam and quickly returned to the conventional mindset it preferred. The writing is crisp and powerful. The lessons of this book remain vital today as the U.S. continues to struggle on how to best defeat America's latest enemies.
Still very full of lessons.......2006-02-27
Although coming to this work as a result of a contemporary (2006) news story about the author I was shocked at the relevance of the book to the issues facing the US Army (and others) in Iraq.
The Army and Vietnam is a fascinating study of how not to organise and fight a counter-insurgency campaign amongst a resentful populace using the most aggressive and technologically advanced "shock and awe" methods.
It appears, not least from the paucity of reviews, that this is a book that was seen to lack relevance or lessons for America's warriors. How wrong they were.
I would strongly commend this book both to students of the history of the Vietnam War and those looking for a fresh, professional, perspective on the problems the US faces in Iraq.
Most Interesting book I've read on the Vietnam War.......2004-02-03
This book deserves to be far more widely read than it is--and I have no idea why it isn't. Krepinivich's thesis is a brilliant one--the US army was "conceptually" unprepared to fight the Vietnam war: it brought a cold war mentality to the jungles of Vietnam and spent the first seven or eight years of the war trying to "find" this war. The US army imagined that the Viet Cong was a variant of the Soviet army--they "must" have been controlled by a central organization and "must" have had "hidden armies" lurking in the jungle. Decively defeating them would, the Army believed, end the war.
In fact, Krepinivich convincingly argues, the VC was not in the jungle at all--but in the cities along the coast. "We should have done less 'flit'in' and more 'sit'in'", he says.
The war was actually fought more effectively after US troop reduction prevented the "jungle search" strategy from being implemented. This was something akin to what the Marines performed in I Corps: rather than participate in large scale jungle sweeps, troops were divided up and put in small villages with radios. The strategy was more hazardous as troops, because of their small numbers might be overrun. However, it was more effective because it allowed allied forces to prevent the VC from retaking a village after they had withdrawn from their major operation.
This book should eventually allow for US military operations in the first part of the war to be put in the context of greater US cold war culture. The "willing blindness" of the US military during much of the sixties came from what amounts to a cultural fixation on a way power was imagined to function. Even in '71, Nixon believed that the Vietnamese communists was controled by a "COSVN", which functioned like a sort of "tumor": nip the tumor and the body will fall. This, Krepinivich proves, was all part of the American imaginary. Our blindness went far beyond the generals: it was part of our culture.
Army unprepared for war in Vietnam.......2001-01-22
This is an excellant book that should be read by every military professional and anybody interested in civil-miltary relationships and what happened in Vietnem. The authors premise is that the Army was unprepared for a war in Vietnam. Krepinevich states that Army training, doctrine and organization was geared toward a conventional conflict like what had happened in WWII and Korea. The Army was not prepared to fight a counterinsurgency against a foe that was only going to fight when they had to and when the circumstances and odds were in their favor. The senior leadership of the Army thought the war would be won be killing VC and NVA. According to Krepinevich this is all wrong. To defeat an insurgency you must protect and convince the people of the country you are trying to save that their fortunes lay in siding with you. If the people aren't going to back you then you will lose. It doesn't matter how many VC you kill. The Army's senior leadership did not want to deal with the pacification programs that would have won the war. Many in the military like to lay the blame for the loss in the war at the feet of the politicians in Washington. And there is justification for that. But Krepinevich makes a strong arguement that the war would have still been lost due to the poor/lack of strategy by our military leaders. Reading this book really angered me. Prior to this I had just finished reading "Street Without Joy" by Bernard Fall and I could not help but note the similarities between the failed French efforts and our own. It was like reading the same book over again except the units and the names of the leaders were different. There were almost no lessons learned by our senior leadership from the French debacle.
Book Description
This book provides an insider's view of what it takes to become a member of the Army's Special Forces, the elite Green Berets. It describes the skills they learn and equipment and tactics used to engage in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, special reconnaissance, anti-terrorism missions, information operations, and counter-proliferation.
Customer Reviews:
Average.. yet Above Average.......2007-08-25
I'd give this book 3.5 but I cant... I found this book to be very well informing of all types of stages in trasining to be a green beret and the conciseness... Though it lacks detailed first-hand accounts on what the training is like and rather usually just gives a brief overview. It does however have alot of pictures and often times (brief but) particular information on other stages of the course like the Scuba and even has a course outline and pictures on SERE.
This book is really good for those that have no working foundation on process of becoming SF, yet its also good if you already have one because it presents the information in a clearer concise presentation. If you want more detailed first-hand accounts on the actual training read Dick Couch's "Chosen Soldier"
Excellent.......2007-01-26
Probably the best single resource I've ever seen about Army S.F., recommend to anyone interested in this field!
informative.......2006-03-24
This book is amazing, because of its pictures and diagrams. It gives you an exact idea of chronological order of what happens in your training of becoming an SF soldier. It gives you respect for these soldiers and what they are capable of doing. very informative. However, since i am not interested in becoming a green beret, i haven't been able to finish it. i have read the "to be a u.s. army ranger" because it seems to pertain to me more. however it is a good book and i would recommend to those who really don't mind spending money on just buying books to satisfy their curiosity and those who want to be SF.
Gold for possible SF er's.......2005-07-17
This book provides great insight in to what it takes to be the best. It breaks down the process from the beginning of basic to the last phase of the Q Course. I thought I knew pretty much everything I needed,boy was I wrong. The info. is from BTDT's and students going through the training. The pictures are vivid and clear. If you have "To be a U.S. Army Ranger", its in the same format, just a little bigger in size(HxW). This is a must for anyone wanting to go SF.
Book Description
This new, extensively researched volume is a comprehensive guide to the history, development, wear, and use of uniforms and equipment during America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Included are insignia, headgear, camouflage uniforms, experimental items, modified items, flak armor, boots, clothing accessories, paper items and personal items from the year 1965 to 1971, all examined in great detail. Using re-constructed photos the author recreates the look and appearance of the American Soldier in Vietnam. Rangers, medics, scouts, RTO's, machine gunners, Pathfinders, and riflemen are all here and accompanied by detailed text. For the first time, see easily recognizable dating system used by the U.S. Government supply system to date the items on the manufacturer tag. A helpful appendix shows, for the first time ever, all forms of post war gear such as ALICE and camouflage like BDUs and the Rapid Deployment Force pattern, and all those that were never used in South East Asia during the Vietnam War. Included is also an easy to follow, detailed description of each item along with a comparison showing the actual wartime produced item side by side with the undesirable so the collector/Historian/Re-Enactor will never make the mistake of utilizing Post War Produced items again. Packed with over 500 detailed color photographs, and over 100 never before seen original photos from veterans, as well as many close-ups, this book fills an important gap in the collectors reference library and will be invaluable for collectors, living historians, re-enactors, modelers, curators, and artists alike. , over 600 color and b/w photographs, 9" x 12"
Customer Reviews:
A great book that brings to life the soldiers of the US Army Vietnam.......2007-07-20
Few books have been published regarding the US Army and its equipment during the Vietnam War. Miraldi has dared to tackle a very difficult and complex topic regarding the US front-line troop, Ranger and LRRP members by offering a extremely detailed and accurate guide to collectors and anyone with a general interest within the topic.
This book is filled with multiple pictures of both impressions and period photographs (color and B&W) - which really brings the US Army soldier of Vietnam into a greater perspective for anyone who may pick up the book. The chronological ordering is helpful and expressly shows how and why uniforms and equipment changed. Miraldi does an excellent job of distinguishing between years, Corps/zones, and on into individual infantry divisions/brigades - all along showing the unique distinctions between uniforms and equipment of the US Army.
The book is well sourced, mainly from Stanton and Lyles works, and by all means Miraldi separates this work from the sources. Miraldi does an excellent job in showing multiple insignia, rarer pieces of field gear (delta boots?!!?), tons of different types of uniforms, and even includes an appendix (with CLOSEUP pictures) in the back to distinguish Vietnam gear from postwar items (even ERDL/RDF camouflage!)That section alone is worth picking up this book for the 'newbs'. Even the older collectors shouldn't pass up this read/browse - the pictures are good and plentiful on high gloss paper wrapped in a sturdy hardback binding and makes a wonderful additional to any personal library.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is starting out collecting, to a person with a general interest (that needs to grow), or any collector who wishes to expand both their knowledge and understanding of US Army Uniforms and Equip of Vietnam. A real one of a kind book that follows in the footsteps of some, but really separates itself in many unique and wonderful ways. This book serves as a huge leap in better understanding the soldiers of Vietnam through the things they carried, and will continue to be one of the best sources of information regarding this topic. This book DOES NOT disappoint - a true landmark work for a war with not enough devotion and understanding from many. Thanks to Miraldi we can better understand this turbulent time. A+
worthless.......2007-06-18
i only gave this book one star because it you have to.this is the most retarded book ive seen.its just some retards who threw some vietnam era cloths on and took picture in a studio.no real use for this book i could have done the same thing in my back yard. dont waste your money.
Very Misleading.......2007-04-06
The cover of this book shows all soldiers wearing Tigerstripe uniforms, but inside, there are very few pictures of these uniforms, VERY MISLEADING.
This book should be titled, "The Plastic Spoon in Vietnam", in the first couple of pages, the author emphasizes the spoon in the pictures! Why??? (the spoon is inside the pockets of the uniforms). If the author only did this in ONE picture, then OK which was my reaction but in more & more pictures, no way!
Some of the photos show the male models wearing the uniforms that the author has collected, my problem is with some of the helmets, they look like toys, extremely bad helmets, the author should have put a kid under these helmets, not a grown man, and to make it worse, some of the helmet covers just do not look like they were from the Vietnam era.
The author shows US Army unit insignias, he compares actual US insignias from the Vietnam war with South Vietnamese made copies of the same insignias, and you can see the poor quality of the South Vietnamese made insignias, again, it is ok showing a couple of them but he shows a lot of these, no!
The cover for this book shows LRRP's/Rangers from the Vietnam War, which is VERY misleading, inside there are a couple of pictures of these soldiers but here comes the first problem, in a couple of pages, he REPEATS the same picture...one in color, the other in black & white, and he ONLY does this to the FEW pictures of LRRP's/Rangers. Another problem with the few pictures of these types of soldiers is that the photos show "ghosting" plus some of them show blurring/bad spots, why were these pictures put into the book, absolutely no quality control.
Another thing wrong with the book is the wasted pages showing the author in the US Army during the 80's/90's which has nothing to do with Vietnam. Why did he include these pictures?
The ONLY good part is that the author does show some photos of actual soldiers in Vietnam. (Most are posed with smiles)
This book is NOT recommended by me, the author wastes a lot of pages with bad pictures, the spoon, his time in the Army which was NOT during the Vietnam War.
A Great Vietnam Reference.......2006-04-19
This book covers the uniforms and equipment used by U.S. Army infantry and Ranger units from 1965 to 1972. Complete outfits are shown, head to foot, which illustrates how the gear goes together, which items were used during what year, etc. I feel that this method is far better than other books that show a lone shirt on a bust form with a caption like "this is a Vietnam era shirt". The same problem arises with field gear in other books. They show a single canteen cover or compass pouch but never show any equipment assembled as it was actually worn in the field. Miraldi's book is like going back in time and taking a close look at the uniforms & gear carried by individual troopers year by year. Since there is a lot of post 1975 uniforms and field equipment that closely resemble items used in Vietnam, Miraldi explains these differences and points out the details to look for when identifying these items. This book isn't so much a "textbook" about the war, it is more of a hands-on "guide" to use when putting together uniforms and field gear. I believe this book accomplishes this very well and I make regular references to it.
Uniforms &Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps & Rangers.......2002-01-27
As a collector, one of the most useful books I have found in identifying historical information from everything from badges to berrets. It is written in such a way that can easily be understood by all ages. The pictures and illustrations are a great addition to this great work.
Average customer rating:
- a good memoir to read if you want more information on the Vietnam War
- The war in Vietnam
- Wolff Is a Master Storyteller--Period!
- Gave me valuable insight and focus into a confusing part of my own life.
- Welcome home, SF...
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In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
Tobias Wolff
Manufacturer: Vintage
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ASIN: 0679760237
Release Date: 1995-09-26 |
Amazon.com
In This Boy's Life Tobias Wolf created an unforgettable memoir of an American childhood. Now he gives us a precisely and sometimes pitilessly remembered account of his young manhood - a young manhood that become entangled in the tragic adventure that was Vietnam. Mordantly funny, searingly honest,
In Pharoah's Army is a war memoir in the tradition of George Orwell and Michael Herr.
Book Description
Whether he is evoking the blind carnage of the Tet offensive, the theatrics of his fellow Americans, or the unraveling of his own illusions, Wolff brings to this work the same uncanny eye for detail, pitiless candor and mordant wit that made This Boy's Life a modern classic.
Customer Reviews:
a good memoir to read if you want more information on the Vietnam War.......2007-08-29
I read the back of this book and got very interested in it. I have read a few other books about the Vietnam War and this book was mentioned. It was a good experience reading this book from the man's point of view. I really felt like I was there with him and his platoon--in the mud, in the gungle, in a helecopter--where ever the author was.
The war in Vietnam.......2007-08-27
Wolff manages to bring the war in Vietnam into focus with sharply observed events from his tour there. As merciless with himself as he is with the entire US effort, he shows us just how foreign Vietnam was and still is for us, how brutish our presence was even when well meaning, and how doomed it was, probably from the start.
Wolff Is a Master Storyteller--Period!.......2007-04-02
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it--if you are not reading Tobias Wolff you are only cheating yourself. The man simply does not write anything less than absolutely mesmerizing. I assure you, that is not an exaggeration.
This latest work of Wolff's I've read is called In Pharaoh's Army. It is a memoir offering us what lead to his taking part in the Vietnam War, his actual tour, and then the aftermath. Now having read all of Wolff's work, I purposefully saved this one for last because I mistakenly believed I'd like it the least.
I loved this book. Those of us born after the war have a notion of what Vietnam was like thanks to Hollywood movies, but Wolff gives us a totally different perspective, though no less horrific. Wolff's memoir deals with the one thing nobody likes to talk about too much--fear. He was afraid to go. He was afraid while he was there. And when he got back, he was afraid of what he'd become. Wolff is not a weak man, you'll gather that from his recounts, he simply does not bother to hide the fact that he was counting down the minutes until he got home, and he just wanted to stay alive.
Each of Wolff's chapters are like mini-stories, and they each offer the hilarity, absurdity, and sometimes tragedy of his life during that time. I was surprised at how much of the book is spent leading up to his deployment and then his eventual return. I'd say only half of the book actually deals with his actual time in Vietnam.
As I've said, I've never experienced anything like this book and I completely recommend you read it if you are interested in either Wolff himself, the Vietnam War, or in the form and style of a masterly rendered memoir.
Please, do us both a favor--read something by Tobias Wolff.
Gave me valuable insight and focus into a confusing part of my own life........2007-01-03
The VietNam War, the politics, social uproar, confusion, riots, protests, etc. formed the background--on TV-- of my young teen years, yet since I was at the tail end of the baby boom, none of my peers were old enough to be drafted or enlist. I grew up feeling like "Viet Nam" was a bad movie I wandered into during the middle of and thought it would never end. I'd been too young to participate, but not too young to avoid a lingering and draining sense of guilt and anger.
Somehow,reading Wolff's book helped me look back at that period in my life and see more clearly, and helped me to put "Viet Nam" in a context and make use of the guilt by feeling gratitude for those who carried out their missions in spite of it all, and to use the anger to try to prevent our old men(and women)from sending more young men and women on a useless mission. (Looks like we're going down that road again, though).
Although it's not an absolute necessity, I think I understood Pharaoh's Army more deeply by having read This Boy's Life. As others have mentioned, Wolff's writing is lean, direct and honest. He has an ability to be objectively observant about himself.
Welcome home, SF..........2006-11-06
The intriguing title of Tobias's 'tour guide' captures the feel that fellow Nam combat vet Joe Haldeman also captured in his Sci Fi classic, and Vietnam War allegory, The Forever War.
In Joe's novel, the Government back on Earth were so far removed from the deep space battles that were daily occuring many light years away, that the absence of real-time command and control made the war a fiasco for the troops at the end of the line.
Likewise, if you talk to any Nam vets, the Vietnam War was being run by a totally out of touch (in every sense) Government that was attempting to run things from 12,000 miles away. The constant and erratic political interference with the tactical situation (Vietnam was never fought as a strategic war until the Linebacker II air campaign in December, 1972) seems to have reminded Tobias of the way the Egyptian Army of old became so remote from the commands of the Pharaoh that their war also felt pointless for the combat soldier in the field.
A wonderfully honest book, that examines the war up close, for good or for bad, and which is a welcome addition to the many fine books penned by combat vets and military nurses (please check out Army Nurse Susan O'Neill's magnificent Don't Mean Nothing) that really put you in the middle of war in all of its madness and futility.
Bravo.
Customer Reviews:
Stanton.......2007-01-16
This is a cornerstone of the collection of anyone doing VN research.
Bob Walsh
All Reference but Invaluable for the Researcher.......2004-10-02
Shelby Stanton's book "Vietnam: Order of Battle" is a recent re-issue of a classic reference text that is essential for anyone who is researching America's long, troubled war in Southeast Asia. The book does not have a narrative, or an overview of the war, it is simply a well-researched and comrehensive breakdown of facts, the engagements that the United States and its allies fought, the organization and insignia of the units that serves in Vietnam, the fixed wing aircraft, the ubiquitous helicopters, small arms, heavy weapons, armor that were used, the deployments and casualties, military terms and finally, a very useful series of maps of the conflict. Shelby Stanton is an authority on the War in Vietnam and has authored many books on the subject and this large coffee-table volume is the product of an unusually dedicated and indefatigable researcher.
Customer Reviews:
The Novel as History, Indeed.......2007-01-26
On March 17, 2007 various anti-Iraq War forces will converge on the Pentagon to oppose the war and to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the original protest (and `levitation' according to some sources then such as Abbie Hoffman) of that symbol of American imperialism during the Vietnam War. Whether such a celebration is called for under the circumstances of the Iraq anti-war movement's continuing failure stop this war it is nevertheless fitting that Norman Mailer's Armies of the Night be reviewed with that upcoming event in mind.
Mailer attempted then, as he did several times later in his literary career in works like St. George and the Dragon, to work with new fictional tropes in order to enhance the value of the serious novel which was then as now in some decline. He took the original notes that he made at that first Pentagon event and wrote two forms of the story, one seemingly fictional and the other based on his first-hand impressions as a participant in a historical event. At the time this device had some novelty attached to it although he never achieved the mastery of the concept that Dr. Hunter Thompson was able to do under his concept of `gonzo' journalism. In any case for those anti-war history buffs or those who want to remember a small slice of the 1960's Mailer's history as a novel should hit the spot. Whatever philosophical differences one might have with the man or unsureness of the aptness of his various literary devices one thing is always truw. He sure as hell can write. Read on.
Maybe You Had To Be There..........2006-08-15
I read Armies of the Night for a graduate school class. I found this novel/history very difficult to read. I would sometimes find myself reading a page over three times before I could get anything out of it. It was inaccessible, frustrating, and in short order I felt great hostility bordering on hatred for the author. For example, early in the book Mailer announces to a room full of people that he had just urinated all over the restroom floor when he could find neither the light switch nor the urinal. He is inebriated at the time. Perhaps he intended this to be a humorous revelation, I thought it was obnoxious.
Another example of Mailer's ego, is when he states early in the book that he is "probably willing to die" for the anti-war cause. This is revealed as macho swagger because at the moment of truth, Mailer is unwilling to even do a paltry five days in jail for the cause. He complains about the conditions in jail; he can't shave and his clothes get dirty. I thought the authorities were generous to provide everyone a bed to sleep in, as well as meals, coffee, and reading material but this was apparently insufficient for Mr. Mailer as he finds fault with all of it.
The book gets better when we leave Mailer's personal experience and are finally permitted to learn something about the brave young men and women who made up the heart of the protest. Some of the protesters spent the night in the cold outside the Pentagon, some were beaten by the guards, and others had water poured on them while they were sleeping. Unfortunately this part of the book is much briefer than Mailer's narrative.
For me, this book is ruined by Mailer's self-important posturing. If the author's goal was to make readers hate him, I think he succeeded. I have utterly no idea why this book won a Pulitzer Prize. Perhaps it is an example of the adage "you had to be there." I have read Mailer's other Pulitzer Prize winner, The Executioner's Song, and I liked it. This book however, was awful.
Great style, but is it really a novel in any sense?.......2005-07-21
I'm not going to try to answer my own question. I will say that this is an interesting look at the 67 march from Mailer's perspective. The section on the development of the march itself and the organizers was very informative, as was the section entitled "Why are we in Vietnam?" (a clear reference to Mailer's previous novel, which was criticized for not answering the question clearly enough.
The analysis of the changing liberalism in the US is also quite good. Overall, there is no plot. And Mailer's attempts to avoid even the most minor suffering are laughable especially when held against the suffering of the Vietnamese and the US soldiers enlisted to fight a meandering war.
Reading the book in 2005, however, gives the book great significance. It's clear that liberals write books and conservatives work in politics. And unfortunately, neither side listens to the other very closely.
Mailer's style in this book is very fast and pulled me through the first section quickly. Things slow down in the second section, but not because the subject matter is slower. Mailer clearly wanted to switch styles (and even talks about how he prides himself on changing styles with every work).
Anyway. Enjoy it for the connections to 2005 America, but remember that Mailer is...Mailer. And he loves to talk about himself and how important he is to everyone around him.
At war with oneself.......2005-07-17
Most interesting to me, being a rather apolitical person, was the way Mailer described his "image" as a being completely outside of himself, and how the character "Mailer" in the book can be seen as his image, while the Narrator can be seen as the real Mailer. Mailer is an enjoyable author to read, as his utterly opinionated and iconoclastic personality cannot be kept apart from his subject matter, a fact that is all the more true for ARMIES OF THE NIGHT. I was surprised how much self-awareness he actually possesses... writing in the third person allowed him to step outside himself and observe some of his more unusual personality traits. I also enjoyed the books BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and the new novel KITE RUNNER-----that is, if you're looking for something really different and great to read.
The novelist as central actor on the stage of history .......2004-10-31
The novelist places himself in center stage. He writes of the March on Washington in protest of the Vietnam War as if he were a major character. He writes with a great sweep and strength almost as if he had recaptured the power once present when he wrote his first published novel. But of course there is no way he cannot let his own generous capacity for grandiose grandstanding not come into the picture. Still all things considered it is no doubt one of his best books. And it is one which gives a broad- lens picture of the Anti- War movements various components .
Mailer is very good here, and the book does record a moment in the history of the great republic. But it is necessary to be wary of the author's various theories of power in American life.
This is a man who can write so wonderfully at times, but is also capable of tremendous nonsense.
Let the reader judge where this is outstanding, and where it should never have been written.
Customer Reviews:
AuthorZone.Com Book Review.......2003-08-01
Excellent book. Well written, easily read, thought provoking. Is long, but not cumbersome.
I first read 'About Face' written by Col. David Hackworth during the late 1980s. I found it extremely valuable in helping me...a woman with little knowledge of anything military, understand better my children's dad, a land based Viet Nam combat vet and the problems he had to deal with before his death.
As the wife of yet a second Viet Nam combat vet, special forces, I suggest this book for anyone who wants a better understanding of the debt of gratitude and respect we citizens owe those willing to serve in The United States Military.
Reviewed by: molly martin
should be required reading for all seving military leaders.......1999-07-15
I first came to hear of ABOUT FACE from a friend and fellow NCO in Korea. He said I might think it was good, Was that an understatement. I read About Face in one fourteen hour plane ride back to Korea. I've read it three more times so far and recommend it to all my friends deserving the title Non-Commisioned Officer. I truly believe that all military leaders should read this and take from it; Hack's wisdom and experiance dealing with the military, Integrity and soldiering.
A Great Man, A Great Book, A Great Read.......1997-08-07
I bought this book when I was about 11 years old and a big fan of "war stories". I am now approaching twenty and have read this book at least once a year since first purchasing it, to the extent that it is now in three parts and the photographs have fallen out. This book is an intense, gripping, readable but most of all honest and believable account of one of America's greatest warriors and his experiences...from the forested slopes of Trieste in 1946 to being chased around Washington DC by Army Intell goons in 1971, this book, while entertaining, will also teach you everything you need to know about duty, honour,bravery and honest patriotism, qualities that come hard to find in the era of Iran-Contra, Tailhook, Whitewater and the like...
This book will make you laugh, cry and think.
Please, read it.
A grunts-eye-view look at the career of Col. Hackworth........1997-07-25
This is the tale of America's most decorated living hero. From his humble beginnings to his glorious career in the U. S. Army. A man destined to be one of the elite movers and shakers in the military. He became disillusioned with America's war effort in Vietnam and the "ticket-punching" pursuits of the manager-officers. He gave up his career and moved into self-imposed exile. This story is a must read for those interested in the development of the U. S. Army since WWII. It's a real wake-up call
Average customer rating:
- This book is a MUST HAVE for your Special Forces collection!
- An outstanding compendium of the SF in Southeast Asia
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Special Forces at War: An Illustrated History, Southeast Asia, 1957-1975
Shelby L. Stanton
Manufacturer: Howell Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0943231280 |
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This book is a MUST HAVE for your Special Forces collection!.......2006-04-07
I practically own every book on the subject on the Green Berets in Vietnam, and this one is superb by far. Brief histories (pick up Stanton's Green Berets at War for more written history) are provided, but the PICTURES! This book follows the Special forces in Vietnam (mostly Green Berets) chronologically with pictures,I have never seen 98% of the photos in this book published anywhere else ever! Great amount of detail following the SF into Laos, VN A-camps (best pics ever), weapons, 'yards, nungs, SOG (personal favorite), and anything else. I cannot praise Shelby Stanton enough for this book, along with the rest of his wonderful collections.
This book is a great reference that is invaluable to anyone remotely interested in the Special forces. The maps in the back are superb as well, and great overhead pics of base camps including part/full layouts!! No other book on the Green Berets can even touch the sheer magnitude and scale this book covers. A true prize for any collector - Running Recon (Greco) and SOG A Photo History (Plaster) are really the only illustrated books that have as great of a scale. In many respects this book stands alone - If I could give this book a 6/5 I would - actually I would give it an infinite - If you are into the Vietnam Green Berets or really any Special Forces from any era - BUY THIS BOOK NOW NO MATTER THE PRICE!
An outstanding compendium of the SF in Southeast Asia.......1997-01-21
The book is a great photographic representation of the Green Berets in Southeast Asia. From helicopter rides and walks in the jungle to training and living with the natives, its pictures and narratives take the reader through the many missions of the men of Special Forces in Vietnam and the surrounding countries. One can see (and almost feel) the sweat, pain and the joys of those "selected few." The book is presented cronologically making events easy to follow, and it helps relating to the rest of the history of the Vietnam conflict. The book is a must have for those who like to remember and honor those "who were there."
Average customer rating:
- A good feel for the boonies
- A good book worth reading
- Gone Native - I have known men like him
- Excellent
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Gone Native: An NCO's Story
Alan Cornett
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Blackjack-33
ASIN: 0804116377
Release Date: 2000-06-06 |
Book Description
On his first combat assignment, Cornett accompanied the Vietnamese Rangers on a search-and-destroy mission near Khe Sang. There he gained entree into a culture that he would ultimately respect greatly and admire deeply. Cornett's most challenging military duty began when he joined the Phoenix Program. As part of AK squad, he dressed in enemy uniform and roamed the deadly Central Highlands, capturing high-ranking VC officers in hot firefights and ambushes. It was there, deep in enemy territory, where the smallest mistake meant sudden death, that the Vietnamese fighting men earned his utmost respect.
While offering rare glimpses of an aspect of the war most of the military and media never saw, Cornett tells the full, gut-wrenching story of his Vietnam. He also gives an unsparing view of himself - telling a no-holds-barred story of an American soldier who made sacrifices far beyond the call of duty . . . a soldier who, in defiance of the U.S. government, refused to turn his back on the Vietnamese.
Customer Reviews:
A good feel for the boonies.......2007-05-07
A well-written document by one of the troops on the ground. Crazy moments of a GI under stress, a good feel for the local hill people, and remembrances of buddies in the field. Some of the actions and soldiers described by Cornett have been written about by others and it is always good to see another version of events, not for differences but for shades and nuances to flavor the stories.
A personal growth story: A boy does good, does bad, then good again and manages to live through the process in a war that featured so many wrong decisions from higher and so many incompetent lower and mid-level officers more concerned with careers than with their men.
A good book worth reading.......2006-09-22
This was a good book to read. It gave a new perspective from "pre-military to post. I considered giving it 4 stars, but for an overall score, I thought 3 stars was more justified.
I can recommend Gone Native to anyone who is thinking about purchasing this book, but it is not a page burner and it seemed to ramble a little towards the end. But in no way would I want a perspective purchaser of this book to think it's not a good one. It is. He is frank and honest and what landed him in the stockade was quite refreshing. (You always hear about the other guy. Well, Cornett was the other guy. Thank you for your honesty.)
Gone Native - I have known men like him.......2006-04-22
Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down. I kept coming across places and people I knew and it brought back a lot of memories. I eventually supported several of his units with intelligence and map overlays for "sensitive" operations, and was in-country myself for six years. I had several run-ins with jerk officers but thankfully they were rare. But I did pull my .45 on three Pentagon O-6s at a SOG briefing when they refused to assist us. Luckily, an SF 1SG Deluca grabbed me and said they were not worth killing as they ran from the room. A couple of weeks later I was jerked out of VN and sent to Germany. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to know how close many of us got to the Vietnamese and the war, and I would very much like to be in contact with the author.
Excellent.......2005-10-26
This was one of those books I didn't want to put down until I was done.
Great Book!!!.......2005-07-26
I have read hundreds of Vietnam nonfiction books and this is in the top 15 for sure. Great book and flows great, did not want it to end...
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